Imperial Tobacco launches caffeinated mouth strips

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Imperial Tobacco Group,
the world's third largest cigarette maker, is moving into
caffeine as more people kick the deadly smoking habit, launching
a melt-in-your-mouth strip designed to give an energy boost in
seconds.

The product, called Reon, comes in flavours such as
"grapefruit & zing" and "black currant & fresh". For now it is
only sold in the English city of Manchester and online.

Developed by Imperial's Fontem Ventures subsidiary, Reon
comes in packs of eight strips, each with 20 mg of caffeine, or
less than a third of the amount in a shot of Starbucks espresso.
A pack costs 2.50 pounds ($4).

"We spent a lot of time with industry experts and consumers
testing various product ideas and this one, caffeinated strips,
always came back as No. 1," Olga Rusnak, Fontem's Lifestyle
Energy category director, told Reuters.

"People just love the idea of being able to have products
that contain moderate amounts of caffeine right in your pocket,
on the go."

Big tobacco firms are increasingly diversifying away from
cigarettes, a market worth over $700 billion a year at retail
but shrinking in many countries for health reasons.

Manchester was selected because it has the second highest
per-capita consumption rate of energy drinks in Britain after
London and the company has good relations with retailers there.
The rollout elsewhere depends on how Reon fares in Manchester.

Like other caffeinated products, Reon is not recommended for
children but there are no restrictions on sales to minors.

Among other caffeine mouth strips already on the market is
Sheets, launched by U.S. basketball star LeBron James, who has
since sold his stake. Similar products have prompted concern
among some health experts in Australia about the risks of
overdose.

Caffeine strips tap into booming demand for energy drinks
like Red Bull and Monster. Euromonitor International
expects the global energy drink market to be worth more than $47
billion by 2019 from nearly $31 billion today.

A recent study in the journal Frontiers in Public Health
suggested energy drinks could be a looming public health threat
due to excessive caffeine intake and the dangers of mixing them
with alcohol.

Imperial Tobacco makes cigarettes including Davidoff and
Gauloises and will become the leading e-cigarette maker in the
United States after a deal to buy the blu e-cigarette brand from
Lorillard.